Vance eyes own trail in America First politics in Republican rout

It is the Trump administration, not the people, that abandoned America First politics, according to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. He said the Republican rout in the midterm elections was a direct outcome of the administration’s policies, particularly the war on Iran. Many see Mr. Vance’s position as a rebellion against President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Vance’s measured but pointed disavowal of the direction of his own administration keeps him in pole position as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. The election debacle strengthens, not in the least weakens, Mr. Vance’s position, and further diminishes the prospects of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a conventional Christian conservative who boarded the America First movement largely out of political expediency.